1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a cable including a conductive core with a carbon nanotube layer.
2. Description of Related Art
An electrical cable including a conductive core, an insulating layer, and a shielding layer, is usually surrounded by a sheath. The conductive core can be a solid or braided wire, and the shielding layer can be a wound foil, a woven tape, or a braid. The internal insulating layer (i.e., a dielectric) acts as a physical support, and electrically isolates and maintains a constant space between the conductive core and the shielding layer.
The cable may be rigid or flexible. Typically, the rigid type has a solid conductive core, while the flexible type has a braided conductive core. The conductive cores for both types are usually made of metal wires, such as thin copper wires. The insulating layer, also called the dielectric, has a significant effect on the cable's properties such as characteristic impedance and attenuation. The dielectric may be solid or perforated with air spaces. The shielding layer ensures that the signal to be transmitted stays inside the cable and that all other signals stay out (in other words it acts as a two-way signal shield). The shielding layer also serves as a conductor or ground wire.
However, for a conductive core made of a metal wire, a skin effect will occur in the conductive core. The effective resistance of the cable becomes larger and causes signal decay during transmission. Furthermore, the conductive core and the shielding layer have less strength, so the weight and diameter must be greater to compensate.
Thus, there remains a need for providing a new cable to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings.